War|The board revised the hospital network decision based on expert opinions.
Kouvola the hospital’s night duty will remain. The Minister of Social Affairs and Health told about it a moment ago at a press conference Kaisa Juuso (p.s.).
“There are 80,000 inhabitants in the Kouvola area. In addition, there is the Kuusankoski Psychiatric Hospital and the Karelia Brigade, which need these services,” Juuso reasoned at the press conference.
In the government’s proposal, the reform of the emergency department in hospitals and the division of labor in specialized medical care was mainly outlined already in the spring during the government’s frame-work. At that time, it was decided that primary care night duty will cease in Iisalmi, Jämsä, Raahe, Varkaute and Kouvola at the end of 2025 at the latest.
In particular, the termination of night duty at Kouvola’s hospital, Ratamokeskus, which had only been in use for a couple of years, aroused fierce opposition in Kouvola and Kymenlaakso.
According to the calculations of the Kymenlaakso welfare area, the abolition would have caused more costs than savings, as patients would have had to be rushed to Kotka hospital at night for treatment. According to the welfare region, the direct costs of the abolition would be up to nine million euros per year. In addition, the abolition of night duty was estimated to cause a lot of indirect costs.
Finance minister Riikka Purra (ps) already said at the beginning of summer that the government should not make savings decisions that do not actually bring savings. However, at the summer meeting held by Basic Finns in Kouvola at the end of August, Purra stated that if the abolition of night duty in Kouvola does not save money, a substitute saving must be found somewhere.
According to HS’s information, the board already agreed on Monday that Kouvola’s night duty will not be abolished.
The story is updated.
#Sote #Kouvola #hospitals #night #duty #remain
